BELPAESE Vinyl & CDs

Review: More scalpel-wielding reworks of vintage cuts from 'bella Italia' (that's Italy, not the Italian-themed restaurant chain) courtesy of the ever on-point Belpease crew. This time round they begin with 'Un Colpo al Cuore', a fine rearrangement of a soaring Italian disco gem from (we think) the late 1970s - all Chic-style bass and guitars, spacey synths, sweeping orchestration and sweet, eyes-closed female vocals. Over on the flip, 'Inevitable' takes us into quirky disco-funk territory, with down-low guitar, organ and Clavinet licks vying for sound space with shuffling drum-breaks, heady horns and stylish blue-eyed soul vocals. Like the A-side, it's a winner.

Review: Since launching in 2018, the Belpaese imprint has delivered a string of must-check EPs featuring re-edits of old Italian songs and instrumentals. It's a bit of a niche pursuit, but given the country's contribution to dance music culture over the years one that makes total sense. Volume ten in the series arrives with two sweat-soaked cut-jobs to enjoy. 'Ancora Un Baccio' is a quirky and eccentric Italo-disco number that boasts both rubbery slap-bass (including some energetic soloing) and surging electronic bass, alongside suitably camp lead vocals and heady vocalisations. 'Un Sogno Per La Testa' is a bit more Balearic minded, with the shadowy scalpel fiends making merry with what sounds like a holiday-ready 1980s pop song full of glistening guitar licks, jazz-funk bass and unfussy beats.

Review: The Belpaese crew are back with another round of edits celebrating strictly Italian grooves. Let's face it - there's a rich enough culture of disco and funk hailing from the Romans to keep diggers busy for a long time yet. "Ed Invece Vai" is a mid-tempo cruiser with a sweet falsetto vocal and a whimsical tone, while "Disco Astrale" ups the pace and weaves in some cosmic swishes for a particularly funky trip amongst the stars. "Prigioniero Dei Sogni" is a cool 70s workout with dramatic strings and some killer synth flex where it counts. "Fuori Un Brutto Vento" completes the set with a powerful blast of bombastic songwriting strapped to another sure shot built for the dancefloor.

Review: The sneaky scalpel fiends behind the Belpaese Edits imprint are back with more inspired reworks of obscure, little known and overlooked European - and mostly Italian - gems from the 1970s and '80s. First up is "Vieni Con Mi", a wonderfully overblown chunk of loose-limbed jazz-rock/disco-soul fusion blessed with breathy female vocals, mazy flutes, wah-wah guitars, heavy bass and drumming so wild it may well be capable of raising cadavers from their graves. Flipside "20 Secoli Di Favole" is similarly minded, if a little closer to Baldelli "cosmic rock" territory - all ragged rock riffs, manic female vocals, groovy bass and intergalactic analogue synthesizer lines.

Review: Climb on board the Belpaese express for another scalpel-wielding excursion into the eccentric world of cosmic disco and long-forgotten Italian club cuts. It's a journey every bit as riveting as their previous 12-inch trips. On the A-side you can settle in and let the extended Latin piano solos, Balearic boogie grooves, sweaty percussion breaks and early '80s jazz-funk synths of "Vai Di Samba" carry you towards your destination. A trip to the B-side buffet car is encouraged, too, where both "Fonde E Confonde" and the jammed-out, off-kilter Brazilian style electrofunk madness of "Electrosamba" are far more appetizing than your average on-board snack. The latter track, which also contains some insanely heavy passages of layered samba beats, is probably the EP's most potent cut.

Review: Belpaese Edits is a new Balearic and cosmic-minded rework series shrouded in mystery. We know it is Italian in origin (the label makes that clear), but very little else. In many ways, it doesn't matter; whoever is behind it, this debut EP is excellent. It opens with the chant-along, carnival-ready jazz-funk/South American style disco fusion of "Sentimento", before charging off on a more low-slung and driving direction via "Ancora Piaccio", a tasty revision of a lesser-known disco-era Italian record. Over on side B, "Di Chi Sei" sounds like it was made by Italy's answer to Sade (and, yes, it made us want to walk barefoot down a beach arm in arm with a loved one), while "Para Para" is a chugging, reggae-influenced chunk of slo-mo Italian disco-exotica.